


I hope we remember each other

by sunshine_kitcat (moonkevin)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Fluff, Immortality, M/M, Metaphors, Minor Character Death, Multi, OT5 Vocal Team, Platonic Relationships, Self-Discovery, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:55:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22638805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonkevin/pseuds/sunshine_kitcat
Summary: Is it a blessing to be immortal? Jeonghan wonders. His eyelids flutter close amongst the commotion of wailing sirens in the background, as he drifts into a state of in-between. His form is nothing but a flicker of ghostly and angelic, soft glow to his transparent form. He’s trapped in this world now, without a way to pass on.
Relationships: Boo Seungkwan/Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Lee Jihoon | Woozi/Lee Seokmin | DK/Yoon Jeonghan, Boo Seungkwan/Yoon Jeonghan, Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Yoon Jeonghan, Lee Jihoon | Woozi/Yoon Jeonghan, Lee Seokmin | DK/Yoon Jeonghan, Yoon Jeonghan/Everyone
Comments: 2
Kudos: 47





	I hope we remember each other

**Author's Note:**

> Second Life - Seventeen Vocal Team

_ Is it a blessing to be immortal? _ Jeonghan wonders. His eyelids flutter close amongst the commotion of wailing sirens in the background, as he drifts into a state of in-between. His form is nothing but a flicker of ghostly and angelic, soft glow to his transparent form. He’s trapped in this world now, without a way to pass on.

He asks the fairies of the forest his question, only to have them ask him if he prefers the frailty of human life. They take him in and teach him the wonders of the cycle of life, from the seasonal reds of autumn to the pure white of spring. The forest is always a muted scent of life, something akin to morning birds along with the backdrop of green, who never show up throughout the day. Amongst the fairies, Jeonghan meets a boy, named Jisoo. Jisoo teaches Jeonghan to hold onto to the magic of time, and how to not let it slip away. Jisoo, who’s time is so so limited by the curse the witches of the lands wrecked upon his infant body. Jisoo, who couldn’t fly like all the other fairies, yet whose heart was as beautiful and free as the birds of paradise that soared the forest sky. The very same heart that taught Jeonghan the meaning of first love.

Jisoo, who died when his time ended. Jisoo, who never let frail mortality stop him from doing everything.

_ Is it a blessing to be immortal? _ Jeonghan asked again.

He pondered to the sylphs of the mountains, whose all-answering cherry blossom kissed his cheeks as it pondered what makes life so special to start with. Jeonghan is taken in under its wings, slipping into the mundane day-to-day life of the sylph’s acolyte training. He meets Jihoon, whose cold gaze aligns with everything Jeonghan knew about the sylph, yet whose warm heart sailed like the warm west wind behind a ship’s torn sail. Jihoon who was cursed with blindness, who navigated the world without a care for the sneers people gave him. After all, he couldn’t see them. Jeonghan remembers the nights he spent listening to Jihoon try to master all the instruments in the world, for hearing was his only other option. Gentle music that lulled Jeonghan to sleep. Exciting beats that lifted his spirits. Depressing tunes that could make a mountain spirit weep. Jihoon, who taught Jeonghan the meaning of filial love.

Jihoon, who devoted his entire life to a meaning he forged himself. Jihoon, who passed away under the gentle ringing of the temple’s bells.

_ Is it a blessing to be immortal? _ Jeonghan pondered to himself.

He proposed this to the wicked sirens, who guided him to the mother pearl to solve this riddle that no one could answer. She greeted him with a careful hum, tucking him into the warm folds of southern currents as she introduced him to Seokmin. Seokmin, a siren whose voice could never work. Seokmin, who showed Jeonghan the beauty of the colourful corals that decorated the ocean’s floor. Seokmin, who could say a million things with a gaze, who had the entire ocean wishing they could hear the beautiful siren sing the first few notes from a voice they knew had to be beautiful. Jeonghan learns he gave that up to become mortal, wishing to end an endless loop of lulling sailors to the ocean’s mercy. Seokmin, who died to defend a sailor of his own because he couldn’t simply watch the ship go down into the waves, the embers of life flickering so bright in the night sky to the point where the stars are drowned out. That was how Jeonghan learned the meaning of love for life.

Jeonghan learned nothing and everything at once. His question, it seems, would never be answered.

_ Is it a blessing to be immortal? _ Jeonghan wondered.

Jeonghan wondered and wandered, deep into the cold embrace of the tundra to the north. The snow fairies are cold in their laughs, hollow and mocking as he asks them. They show off their magical powers, creating structures of ice and glaciers whose beauty could sway the hearts of hermits to go frolicking in the snow barefoot. Jeonghan watches each fairy try to outdo the other, telling Jeonghan that life is about getting the top and that immortality simply gives him more time to do so. If anything, immortality brings him there already. Jeonghan watches them with a sense of discomfort, yet he can’t help but let their words sink in. Life could never be simple or gentle, always a soft cloud to mask the deadly spikes of an avalanche. Amongst these vying fairies, Jeonghan meets Seungkwan. Seungkwan, who was just as ruthless and harsh as the rest, whose cold icy heart made him no different than the others. Yet while the others created grand statues of heroes and creatures, Seungkwan offered Jeonghan a small globe instead, with the soft image of a palace of ice. Seungkwan, who rekindled Jeonghan’s hope for a proper answer as he chased him down after that one fateful day. Seungkwan taught him how to create these little inventions he called ‘snow globes’, and Jeonghan learned the meaning of small happiness.

Jeonghan didn’t let his heart break for the fourth time, this time, leaving under the cover of a dark blizzard night. Seungkwan caught him nonetheless, and Jeonghan learns of a front that masked a broken child. Jeonghan wishes he didn’t.

_ Is it really a blessing,  _ Jeonghan thinks,  _ to be immortal? _

Jeonghan finds himself back in the city now, as his eyelids flutter open gently. There’s a dim white light of the hospital in his vision, somewhat of a cross between gentle and harsh. There’s an itchy piece of fabric clinging to his body, irritating Jeonghan yet the pulsing sense of relief through his body makes up for it. Memories gradually disappear from his now conscious mind, leaving naught but a single phrase. A gasp rings in his ears and Jeonghan tries to blink the dark spots in his vision away, the quiet beep of hospital gear in the back of his mind as his vision focuses.

“Hyung?”

Jeonghan finds his answer in a world without immortality. He finds his answer in a tiny studio room with four other boys, preparing their part for their highly anticipated full-length album. He finds his answer to a question that haunted millenias of in-between, drifting between the hold of death and life. He’s died once, it seems, and he was given a second chance.

A second life.

“What do you think, hyung?” Jihoon’s voice interrupts Jeonghan’s thought. He snaps out of his trance, returning to the reality of a dim blue haze in a studio somewhere in the busy cradle of Seoul. Even in this life, Jihoon is surrounded by music. A bard’s soul, Jeonghan thinks, who lives for the melodies of near and distant dreams.

“Hm?” Jeonghan hums. Seokmin giggles next to him, sprawled out on the couch like a starfish to make comments here and there. He’s tired, exhaustion on his proud shoulders with every show of his musical. Even in this life, Seokmin finds love for life’s brutal mortality. Jeonghan hasn’t shared his in-between to any of them, keeping a century’s worth of stories in his heart as he watches his team ponder the nature of reincarnation and, of course, immortality.

Jisoo smiles softly. “Are you tired already, Hannie? It’s barely midnight,” Jisoo teases, gesturing at the clock on the wall. In this one, Jisoo is relaxed, like he’s got all the time in the world despite the hectic schedule thrown their way. It’s always deadlines and schedules in this life, yet Jisoo never lets a ticking clock stop him.

“I’m fine, Joshuji. What was the question?” Jeonghan replies, shaking his head. Seungkwan drops his head into Jeonghan’s lap, smiling up at him through half-closed eyes. He’s busy too, between variety show filmings and the turmoil of daily idol life. Jeonghan cards his fingers through Seungkwan’s hair, muted joy in his veins as Seungkwan’s half-asleep voice answers him.

“What do you think of immortality, hyung?”

Jeonghan smiles.

“It’s a blessing in disguise.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me on twitter if you want: @heonynchans


End file.
